Starfighters with Taiwan

Last revised December 12, 1999

Accurate accounts of deliveries of Starfighters to Taiwan are hard to
come by, but it is known that an initial batch of 24 ex-USAF F-104As
and 5 F-104Bs were delivered to Taiwan in 1960-61.

In 1964-69, Taiwan received 46 Lockheed-built F-104Gs, eight TF-104Gs,
plus 21 RF-104Gs from Canadair. Another six F-104Ds were received in
1975 from former Air National Guard squadrons In 1983, these
Starfighters were by ex-Luftwaffe machines (38 F-104Gs and 27
TF-104Gs), these aircraft being from the batch of Luftwaffe- owned
Starfighters retained at Luke AFB for training purposes and operating
in USAF insignia and serials. By 1987, the RoCAF had received at
least 22 F-104Js and five F-104DJs from Japan, together with 15
F-104Gs and three TF-104Gs from Denmark. However, some of these aircraft
were suitable only for scavenging for spare parts.

The high point of the RoCAF's F-104 service came on January 13, 1967, when a
pair of Starfighters shot down a couple of People's Liberation Army MiG-19s
in an air battle. This was the first F-104 air-to air victory. However, the
RoCAF Starfighter service was marred by frequent accidents.

All in all, Taiwan has received at least 166 single-seat Starfighters
and about 53 two-seaters, plus possible additional and unknown
quantities from Japan. They are known to have operated with the
following units

2nd/499th Tactical Fighter Wing, Hsinchu

41st, 42nd and 48th Tactical Fighter Squadrons
(1984 to 1993)

3rd/427th Tactical Fighter Wing, Ching Chuan Kang Air Base

7th, 8th, 28th and 35th Tactical Fighter Squadrons
(1965 to 1997)

5th/401st Tactical Combined Wing, Taoyuan AB

12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (to 1998)

Earlier plans to upgrade RoCAF Starfighters to F-104ASA standard by the
installation of FIAR Grifo fire control radar which would give them
beyond-visible-range AAM capability were abandoned.

All of the early series F-104As, Bs, and Ds were withdrawn from
service by the early 1980s, some of them having been transferred to
Pakistan and Jordan. Others were expended as drones or decoys.

By the mid-1990s, the RoCAF's F-104Gs were beginning to show signs of age and were becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. The Starfighters of the 427th TFW were retired and replaced by F-CK-1 Ching-Kuos in 1993. In May 1997, the 499th TFW at Hsinchu AB began to replace its Starfighters with Mirage 2000-5s. The last remaining Starfighter unit, the 12th TRS was relocated from Taoyutan AB to Hsinchu AB. In a ceremony held at Ching Chuang Kang Air Base on May 22, 1998, the last of the 12th TRS's F-104Gs was officially retired from service, bringing the era of Starfighter service with the RoCAF to an end.